Pitch Justice
by griggles
Summary: In a changing world, young superheroes are not permitted to operate freely, but are instead sent to Barden University for training and maturation. When Chloe, Aubrey and Jesse discover a new hero powerful enough to change everything, the Justice League sends her with them to learn what it means to be a hero, and along the way, what it means to be alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the new story I mentioned towards the end of Fix Me. I'm really excited about it, as I've wanted to take another shot at superheroes since I finished my first PP/Batman story. This time, everyone will be a hero, there will be a more complex plot, and I think it's going to be awesome. Anyway, we're going to start off with a bang here. There will be surprises and cliffhangers right from the start. One character mentioned in the preview, who was not going to be a big part of the story anyway (though it's a bit more complex than that, I'll explain it to anyone interested when the plot reaches that point) has been written out. It won't change much, you'll understand as it goes. Anyway, enough of that, enjoy!**

* * *

He always hated this part of the job. Judgement, disappointment, regret, it was the sort of thing best left to greater minds and crueler hearts. He never considered himself a leader, but through necessity he was thrust into the role. As both the public face of the Justice League and its formally elected leader, he was charged with supervising this process. Besides, these were among the more important decisions the league would make in the coming years. As Superman stared wistfully through the glass walls overlooking the Earth from their orbiting headquarters, he couldn't help but think back to a time when things were so much simpler.

It was easier back then, when they were worshipped by fanboys and swooning women. Gone was that era, replaced by a more callous and judgmental populace that saw them more as conquerers than as heroes. Propaganda has that effect, especially when Lex Luthor is the president. The Justice League was that in name only, as the once unstoppable force for good had been whittled down through death and retirement to a sparse 14. Villains were becoming emboldened, making attacks on heroes in ways and places that would have been unimaginable even a decade ago. It certainly didn't help that they continued to get off on technicalities. It simply didn't serve to be a hero any more.

He knew his duties, and how hard it would be to once again deny them. But a promise is a promise, and Superman wasn't one to break his word. Besides, youth does not always have to be served. Based on his limited sidekick interaction he never found them to be of much use anyway. They needed time to incubate and mature. These were not heroes he would see today, they were children. Well, most of them anyway. The few who weren't presented a far more pressing problem.

"Are you ready?" Wonder Woman asked, softly placing a hand on his tense shoulder.

"Not really."

"They're waiting for us Kal."

"They're kids, they can wait a little longer. A bit of patience might do them some good. After all, you have met Jesse."

"Stacie too," Wonder Woman smiled, "but we cannot delay this any longer. They are here, it's time."

"Fine, are the other original members ready?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's go."

The two legends walked in forced silence as Superman contemplated the events of the day. August 13th, as it had been every year previously, was Justice League initiation day. Young heroes would state their case for admittance into the league, at which point the founding members would decide if they deserved it or not. More often than not, they were rejected. In fact, acceptance in itself was such a rarity that most heroes interested simply waited for an open invitation rather than embarrassing themselves with this dog and pony show.

Of course, the league's younger applicants were in a different position. Heroes under the age of 23, assuming they weren't admitted as members of the league, were only allowed to operate in public under the careful supervision of another league member or under the threat of an Omega level alarm. It was simply common sense: in an era dominated by public opinion, having children fighting your battles was a recipe for a media disaster. Besides, Their base at Barden University served its purpose and more.

It was slowly becoming standard practice: send the young heroes to school together. Make them live together, study together, and join clubs together (for this, the oh-so inconspicuous act of a capella was chosen to prevent suspicion). It also gave the league strict control over what missions they actually could take on, which largely subsisted of covert operations or mere surveillance. It was the league's hope that this would allow the younger heroes to bond, to learn how to work as a team, and if they ended up with an education? All the better. Unfortunately, this group was not averse to casualties. At the moment, only two remained alive and active.

When he arrived in the conference room, he noticed the impatience on the faces of his colleagues. He cleared his throat.

"We all know what is at stake here today. The lives of everyone on Earth will be affected by what we decide in this room. The heroes we select must be ready to face the duties of a Justice League member. We will debate every possible criteria ranging from size and strength to mental acumen, but ultimately, we must decide based on one core criterion: who do we trust to be our teammates?"

They all nodded in agreement. Their opinions may have varied, and times may have splintered their relationships, but these five heroes were the very epitome of what the league stood for.

"Good. Now as per protocol, we will go through the applications by experience starting with the least. Who do we have first?"

"My nephew," the Martian Manhunter responded.

"Excellent, send him in."

A short, unathletic looking young man with curly hair walked through the large steel doors. His gangly frame and awkward state of being certainly didn't display the persona of a superhero, in fact he seemed a bit too nervous for anyone's liking. Besides, if the Manhunter was to be believed and this was his nephew, why was he in fully human form? It all seemed a bit much for him, he was in awe of his company.

"State your name for the record please."

"B'nji J'onzz, but you can call me Benji."

"We meant your hero name."

"Oh, um, sorry. I guess I don't have one yet. Maybe the Martian Boyhunter or something? No that sounds too weird. Maybe Mr. Martian? Kid Martian?"

"We can handle that later. Please state your powers for the record."

"Pretty much your standard martian fare. Super strength, speed, flight, shape shifting, density shifting, telepathy, basically everything that he does," Benji explained, pointing at his uncle, "only not as developed."

"What known weaknesses do you have?"

"Fire," he admitted, almost sadly.

"Anything else?"

"Not that I know of, no."

"We'll cut to the chase here, Benji. While your powers make you quite formidable you have absolutely no experience fighting crime here on Earth. In fact, you don't even have any experience living on Earth. It would be irresponsible of us to put you in the field as a full fledged member of the Justice League right now. However, as per Justice League protocol, we would like to station you at Barden University for adjustment and training. You will be able to work with other young heroes and develop your powers there, and after one year, you can apply for membership again. Now would you please send in the next applicant?"

"Ok," Benji said glumly. Though he did not have any experience as a hero, he figured his incredible caché of powers might give him a chance. At the very least, he felt the strong moral upbringing he was afforded under the Martian Manhunter proved that he was ready. However, he knew that time couldn't hurt. After all, his only exposure to human culture was through their Star Wars movies, a gift provided by his uncle to teach him more about the planet and how they perceived alien life.

"Let's see... Aquagirl is next. Since when is there a new Aquagirl?"

"Since like, forever," a rather wide blonde women sarcastically jabbed as she entered the room with the very opposite of grace, "I've been doing this since like... last month."

"And yet we have no record of your whereabouts, activities or even existence. Isn't this the kind of thing that Aquaman would tell us?"

"Well... Atlantis is like... SUPER... far away... get it?"

The scrunched fingers on his temple indicated Superman's lack of amusement with her antics.

"So your name is Aquagirl, and you're not Tula?"

"Nope, the name's Amy. Tula was like a cousin... I think... It's hard to tell... everyone in Atlantis is sort of related."

"So what are your powers?"

"I can talk to fish! And mermaids!"

"Anything else?"

"Well... I'm strong. And I can swim really fast and I know how to fight. I even have these water bearer weapons. They let me take water and turn it into solid objects, like swords and stuff."

"Weaknesses?"

"Umm... I don't like cardio. Like... running after the bad guys... that's not my thing."

"You don't chase criminals?"

"Well I do, but I'm not very good at it. But I'm awesome at everything else in the job though!"

"Aquagirl... Amy right?"

"Yea."

"You are not ready for the Justice League. You just don't take your duties seriously enough. However, if you'd like to train and improve to the point where we would reconsider your application next year we would like to send you to Barden University. There, you will be stationed with other young heroes and hopefully learn a bit about the work that goes into this kind of job. It would also give you some more time to learn about surface life."

"Ok... that sounds alright I guess."

Amy's expression was difficult to measure. Though perhaps disappointed, there was a twinge of intrigue. She was certainly not devastated, it almost felt as if she was only doing this for the sake of doing it.

"Who's next?" Flash asked as Amy walked out.

"I am!"

A tall, incredibly fit woman walked through the doors excitedly. She carried herself with far more confidence than Benji and grace than Amy, but she had a nature that seemed almost playful. Superman noted her lack of seriousness in such an important moment. The ability to relax is obviously important, but so is measuring the meter of the situation. This girl seemed too eager to please.

"State your name for the record please."

"Stacie of Themyscira, but just call me Stacie."

"Superhero name please."

"Wonder Girl."

"Please state your powers for the record."

"Um... I'm really strong. And I can fly like, really fast. I also have magic armor, and this lasso," she pointed out the rope resting upon her belt, "also I'm a trained amazonian warrior. Like, I can use swords and I know how to fight and stuff."

"And how long have you been fighting crime?"

"Umm... a few months? Like seven or eight I think? It's hard to keep track, we don't follow your calendar back home."

"What are your known weaknesses?"

"I have none," she lied sheepishly.

"Stacie?" Wonder Woman said with an almost motherly concern. Though the two were not related by blood, there was a clear kinship between the hero and her apprentice. to Stacie, Wonder Woman was a mentor first, and it showed.

"What! I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's gone a little boy crazy since coming to Man's World," the embarrassment on Wonder Woman's face was evident as it turned almost crimson upon the admission.

"Oh come on! We don't have them back home! What's wrong with being a little... curious."

"Stacie bringing a different man to my apartment every night is not curious, it's irresponsible."

"That's just unfair!"

"Stacie," Superman interrupted, "the Justice League has a reputation to uphold. In this world your actions would be looked down upon, and we do not want to cast the league in that light. On another level, we would hardly call eight months enough experience to join the Justice League. We would like you to spend more time getting accustomed to Man's World by enrolling at Barden University. There you will be exposed to other young heroes and regular people, which will help train you and ensure that you learn to behave yourself in accordance with the high standards upheld by the League."

"Wait, so I'm going to college?"

"Yes."

"Cool!" She said excitedly. As she exited, a devilish grin formed on her face, obviously understanding based on her little exposure to human culture what actually happened at American universities.

"Send in the next applicant," Superman said almost annoyed. As soon as his mouth closed a red and yellow light started whirling around the room in intricate patterns. While The Flash obviously enjoyed it by his large smile and rousing applause, his four counterparts were less amused.

"Ta da!" Jesse announced, raising his arms as he finished his routine. When nobody clapped besides The Flash, his smile dropped slightly, though in a more sarcastic way.

"What? Don't you guys appreciate showmanship?"

"No. We don't."

"Geez sorry."

"State your name for the record please."

"Jesse West, a.k.a Kid Flash, a.k.a the second fastest person in the world behind that guy," Jesse pointed at his uncle.

"Thanks for the props dude!" The Flash responded with an immature grin.

"State your powers for the record please."

"I'm fast. Really, really, really fast. Hence, the lighting bolt," Jesse proudly stuck a thumb on the red lightning bolt adorning his yellow costume.

"Yes, we know," Superman said annoyed, "_how_ fast."

"Well... nobody really knows for sure. I can't move at the speed of light like my uncle, but I'm still really really fast."

"Do you have any known weaknesses?"

"Only things that can interrupt my speed. Like if someone tripped me or something. But honestly, who's fast enough to do that? I'm kind of unstoppable."

Superman raised a palm to his face.

"Jesse, I'll be blunt with you. You're not mature enough to join the Justice League. Not by a long shot. You did just graduate from high school, correct?"

"Yea," Jesse responded curiously.

"Good, then we're sending you to Barden University. A few years in school would do you some good, and you'll be able to meet some other young heroes who might show you a thing or two about maturity."

"You mean like the two babes outside?"

"Dude, keep it professional," Flash warned.

"I mean... the two... WOMEN... outside."

"Yes, like them."

"Although their cases for admittance into the league are far more serious than yours," Wonder Woman added.

"We'll see," Superman grumbled.

"Ok cool, so should I just wait outside or..."

"The others left did they not?" The Manhunter asked.

"Don't worry, wait for me and we'll leave when this all done," Flash confirmed.

"Ok, so who should you send in."

"They'll know what to do when you leave."

* * *

Chloe rested her head on Aubrey's shoulder as they patiently awaited their turn in front of the founders. Both had been rejected in the past, but they each harbored a cautious optimism. They were the most experienced applicants by far, and after three years in college they both felt that they had served their time. Especially Aubrey, who had an astonishing eight years of experience as a hero yet was still denied each year.

Aubrey's case was... unique. She had no super powers, just an incredible set of skills and iron clad refusal to compromise her integrity. But neither was what made her one of the most feared heroes in the world, that would be her drive. Her obsession. Her absolute need to win at everything she did. Criminals knew not to do waste a moment around her, because if she even caught them in sight, she would hunt them down until the day they died.

Though Chloe's three years paled in comparison, her powers and added responsibility more than made up for it. She was considered for admittance every year since, and despite the overwhelming support of the league, she was rejected by Superman at every turn. She never quite understood it. Her record was absolutely stellar, her exploits the talk of the galaxy. Scores of species still existed solely because of her intervention, and even her most staunch detractors (if any existed) couldn't deny that she was powerful enough to go toe to toe with almost anyone in the league. Her rejections never quite made sense. It hurt, but she wasn't in this for the glory.

Besides, she and Aubrey were both steadfast in their desire to gain entrance together. They were inseparable and always had been, they grew up together, played together, went to school together, and upon the incarceration of Aubrey's father, lived together as Chloe's father was Aubrey's godfather. They didn't know life without each other, and after all of these years they felt like this was finally their time. Of course, Aubrey could tell when Chloe was uncomfortable. And now, she certainly was. Aubrey soaked in the moment, silently enjoying watching Chloe play with a lose strand of hair. Within a few hours it would be a memory, something to reminisce upon when they were fully fledged members of the Justice League.

"Nervous?" Aubrey asked.

"Of course. You?"

"I should be in the bathroom throwing up right now."

"Don't be. I can't imagine them rejecting you now. I mean, my god you've been doing this almost as long as they have."

"Yea, but it takes a pretty special hero to get in without powers."

"But we both know pretty well that it can be done."

"True. You're the one who should be optimistic."

"You'd think, but several years of rejection can harden a girl up."

"I know what you mean."

Suddenly, a red and yellow light zoomed out of the room.

"The big guy said you'd know what to do."

"Well... I guess that's my cue," Chloe nervously said.

"Good luck."

Chloe flew nervously threw the doors, landing calmly in the center of the room as the five founders look upon her with a mix of pride and excitement. She took that as a good sign.

"State your name for the record please."

"Chloe-"

"-I'm getting really tired of saying this, hero name only. You should know this by now."

"Right, sorry, I guess I'm just nervous."

"Go on."

"I am the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814."

"Please state your powers for the record."

"My ring gives me the power to do anything within my willpower."

"What are your known weaknesses?"

"Only fear and the color yellow."

"We don't need to hear all of this," Hawkgirl interjected, "we know who she is, we've been through this several times. Let's give her a chance to explain why she deserves to join the league.

"Agreed," the Manhunter confirmed. Superman's scowl was visible even as he tried to hide it behind a steel face of objectivity.

"Very well, you may speak on your behalf Chloe."

"Thank you. For the past three years I have been charged by the Guardians of the Universe to protect this entire sector of space and have done so without failure. The original Green Lantern of Earth, Hal Jordan, was a founding member of the league, and I believe that over the past three years I have proven that I am more than capable of performing the duties of a Justice League member."

"It's true," Flash opined, "I've worked with her, she's really great at what she does."

"I agree, in my experience Chloe has proven to be a worthy Green Lantern and would make an excellent addition to the league. Hera knows we could use more women anyway."

"We are not basing these decisions off of gender quotas," Superman spat, "Chloe you're one year away from graduation at Barden. Why don't you stay in school, get your degree and revisit this in a year."

"Oh come on Clark you're being ridiculous," Hawkgirl argued.

"Yes, I agree with Shayera," Manhunter added, "Chloe has proven her valor. I believe it is time for her to join us."

"We'll discuss this further after we've spoken to Aubrey," Superman offered. Chloe gave a curt nod, thanking the founders for their time before walking through the doors wondering why Superman hated her.

"How'd it go?"

"They said they'd discuss it after seeing you."

"Does that mean go in?"

"Yea. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Aubrey walked in nervously, knowing that Chloe's interview couldn't bode very well for her. If Chloe didn't gain an immediate acceptance, what chance did she have? The annoyed look on the faces of the founders definitely didn't help the situation.

"Please state your name for the record."

"Batgirl."

"We know you don't have any superpowers, so just state your training and abilities for the record please."

"I am trained in nine different forms of martial arts, four different hard sciences, criminology, psychology, and I am an expert in the use and engineering of almost any significant form of technology. I have spent three years patrolling Gotham individually before handing the city back to Nightwing upon my enrollment at Barden University. I speak five human languages and three alien, I have a genius level intellect, and have been individually trained in all of these things by Batman. I have worked as Batgirl for eight years and I believe I have proven my worth as an individual hero."

"Yes, an _individual_ hero," Superman retorted, "but your ability to work well with others is still in doubt. Specifically, your anxiety disorder is concerning. The... episode... at the ICCA Finals was not the sort of thing that should happen to a Justice League member, don't you agree?"

"Yes, but I can assure you it was a one time thing."

"We can't be sure of that. I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked Chloe: why not stay at Barden for for another year and get your degree?"

"Because I'm ready," Aubrey stated confidently, "I'm ready to be a hero in the limelight. I'm ready for the duties and responsibilities of being part of the Justice League. And honestly, I'm kind of tired of being kept on the sidelines at Barden."

"You are not kept on the sidelines."

"I might as well be. I'm forced to only work on league sanctioned missions, I had to defer to civilians with the Bellas despite my superior skill, and I just felt like I wasn't being properly utilized."

"Speaking of the Bellas, we assumed you'd be excited to lead them this year. Especially since we are sending you new members."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I would, but I think I'm ready for more."

"Aubrey's track record speaks for itself," Wonder Woman jumped to Aubrey's aid, "not to mention an absolutely glowing review from Batman."

"I don't think we should be putting too much stock in Batman's word considering the circumstances," Manhunter argued, "but I agree. Aubrey is ready. She has been for some time."

Aubrey smiled, it finally felt like this was her moment. Her redemption.

"Aubrey, why don't you wait outside while we discuss this."

"Ok."

As soon as Aubrey left, the group turned on Superman. There would be no vote, it was the leader's right to veto any application he saw fit. Yet another reason he wasn't particularly fond of the job.

"What's the deal Clark?" Flash asked, "Aubrey and Chloe are both ready. They've proven that. Why can't we call them up to the show? We don't need them wasting away at Barden for another year."

"They're only kids."

"They are far more than mere children, Superman, they are heroes, the sort that could really help replenish our forces" Manhunter responded.

"I've fought with both of them, so has everyone else in this room, it's obvious, they're ready. Holding them back any longer will only serve to stunt their development. Besides, we need them as much as they need us."

"Enough," Superman shouted, "As the officially elected leader of the Justice League I am rejecting both of their applications. If anyone has a problem with that they can bring it up next year."

With that, he began to storm out of the room, stopped only by a lone voice.

"What's the real reason you're doing this, Kal?" Wonder Woman asked with obvious concern.

"A promise is a promise," Superman offered sadly, clearly not wanting to reveal more. It was a delicate point for him, a failure he didn't particularly want to touch on in more ways than one. It was his small way of holding on to the past.

"I'll go tell them," Flash told the group.

The Flash's annoyance was clear. The entire group felt trivialized by Superman's totalitarian regime. Super or not, he was only one man, certainly not enough to override the rest of the league for reasons he chose not to divulge. Especially in such a time of need. Both Chloe and Aubrey would have been valuable additions to the league, and now they were going back to Barden to be wasted for another year.

He silently felt a pang in his chest as he watched the two anxious girls trying not to laugh at Jesse's antics. When they noticed his arrival, they both took deep breaths and waited.

"So... It doesn't look like you're gonna make it in this time girls."

"What? Why?" Aubrey argued, "Did we do something wrong? Was it something I said?"

"Don't look at me," Flash deflected, "we all know who said no here."

"The boyscout?" Jesse didn't so much ask as much as he pointed out.

"Pretty much, that guy seriously has to get that stick out of his ass"

"Look on the plus side girls," Jesse tried to help their moods, "now you'll get a year at school with yours truly."

"I can't wait," Aubrey sarcastically responded. It's not that she didn't enjoy Barden. It was the perfect distraction for her and Chloe. After everything that happened, they needed to get away. And a capella? Who knew singing could be so much fun. But Aubrey had outgrown it. That's what she told herself anyway. Maybe she just couldn't go back there after her disastrous breakdown in New York. Aubrey wasn't one for signs from above, but that seemed like a pretty clear "you don't belong here." Suddenly, a blaring red light and siren went off.

"Well... that's my cue."

"Should we come with you?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"No, you three will stay here," Superman confirmed, walking out of the conference room. His voice was bitter, almost angry. Whether his actions were weighing on him or the crisis at hand was that important was unclear, but he was obviously displeased with his current state of affairs.

"Yea, it might... give you a chance to explore the Watchtower a bit..." Flash tried to offer a silver lining.

"We'll keep that in mind," Jesse sarcastically responded.

With that the five league members in attendance used the teleportation pad to head to the problem, whatever it was, leaving the three young heroes alone at the Watchtower.

"So... what are we gonna do?" Jesse asked.

"We could explore," Chloe offered.

"I've already seen the schematics, everything worth seeing is under lock and key."

"So... this is gonna be a long few hours."

The silence was awkward. Chloe and Aubrey didn't really want to talk with a stranger around, and Jesse quickly ran out of ways to use his speed for entertainment. After the longest seven minutes of their lives, the siren started blaring again.

"What is it?"

"I can find out," Aubrey quickly turned to the computer on her wrist, "looks like a fire at a small government building in Boston. Right on the outskirts of town. Give me a second to figure out what it is. Let's see... it looks like it belongs to something called Project Cadmus. I've never heard of it, have you?"

Neither Chloe nor Jesse had. It was an altogether unfamiliar name, though the government had certainly gotten better at keeping secrets from the Justice League in recent years.

"Should we go?"

"Hardly seems like a superhero problem," Aubrey argued, "and I don't like the sound of this. A government organization none of us have heard of suddenly popping up on the grid now? This really seems like a trap."

"Come on, I'm bored, it might be a nice way to get all of our minds off of today," Chloe pleaded.

"We'll be back in a flash," Jesse winked.

"How often do you use that pun?"

"Often enough that you'll get sick of it within a few days."

"Great," Chloe mumbled, "so can we go? Please? Please please please please please," she was doing that damn Chloe pout. Aubrey didn't stand a chance. Not even the Guardians of the Universe would.

"Fine," Aubrey relented, "but we're just taking care of the fire. We're in and out in a few minutes, nothing too dangerous or exciting."


	2. Chapter 2

**Time for my annual plea for reviews. Come on guys my psyche is very very very fragile! Give me a reason to do this instead of the school work I'd probably ignore anyway! Enough of that, time to introduce our protagonist (well, one of them). And reveal a few important details about some of our other characters. In other words, your mind will be blown. One other thing, as I've mentioned in the past, a lot of this comes from Young Justice, with my own personal spin. It's too awesome of an origin for me to ignore and fits in PERFECTLY with where I'm taking this. The other origins (which will be brought up later) are a combination of comic-inspired and totally original. Finally, a special shout out to the reviewer who reviewed this in Spanish. That really brightened my day to see that you like something so much that you read and reviewed it even though it's not in your native language. Anyway, enjoy, and for the sake of my sanity, review!**

* * *

"I fly through space on a daily basis and I'm still not used to that," Chloe remarked feeling slightly queasy after the use of the teleporter.

"It feels like such a waste of my talents."

"There will be plenty of time for complaining later, it looks like the origin of the fire is coming from the east side, third window to the end. Chloe, would you mind giving us a lift?"

With a slight nod, Chloe's ring created a green bubble which carried the three of them through the window in question. On their trip up, they could see that the fire was starting to spread throughout the floor and would have to be dealt with quickly.

"Ok, Chloe, you go check the area for civilians, Jesse, you-"

Aubrey was cut off by a deafening roar. In the corner of the room stood a very large, bright red... not quite a cat, but certainly in the feline family. It had a mane, not quite as pronounced as a lion's, but definitely noticeable. It stood on its hind legs looking ready to pounce.

"Jesse, use your speed to blow away the fire, I can handle this... thing."

Chloe and Jesse ran off to perform their assigned tasks while Aubrey silently wondered whether she should have left the giant red cat to someone with super powers. She brushed it off and took a step towards the beast before a jet of fire shot at her. Lunging out of the way in the nick of time, she suddenly realized where the fire had started. Taking a more evasive route, she managed to get close enough to the creature to attempt a blow, but just as she readied herself for an attack, its paw quickly swiped at her, knocking her into the wall and creating a decent sized hole.

"_That shouldn't have been enough to break a wall,_" Aubrey thought.

As the animal readied itself for another strike, Aubrey quickly reached into her belt and pulled out a syringe. Inside was the strongest anaesthetic in her arsenal. Dodging a paw, she quickly leapt onto its back and plunged the needle into its neck. It struggled mightily as Aubrey pushed down, but after a few moments it collapsed onto the ground. Taking a moment recover, Aubrey studied the creature a bit more thoroughly. It had to be at least eight or nine feet long, and had the muscles and width of a black bear. Still, none of that explained the fire. She decided to table that for time being when Jesse and Chloe came back in.

"There were no civilians inside."

"And the fire's out, well, except in her, just give me a second," Jesse's arms began vibrating at such a rate that wind shot out of them. Within a few seconds, the fire was completely cooled off, "all done."

"What was that thing?"

"Some kind of fire breathing cat."

"A fire breathing cat?"

"Yes, a fire breathing cat. As in, it shot fire at me."

"Why the hell would there be a fire breathing cat here? I didn't know fire breathing cats existed."

"They don't."

"What do you think-," Jesse was cut off as Aubrey turned around to examine the hole in the wall, "what are you doing?"

"When that thing attacked me, it threw me into the wall. The impact was minimal and didn't cause any severe pain, but it left a hole in the wall. It shouldn't have, at least if this building was up to regulations."

"Do you see anything?"

"No, it's too dark and the hole isn't big enough."

"Let me take a look," Chloe offered. A giant circular saw burst out of Chloe's ring and began cutting into the wall, trying to enlarge their small window. After a few moments, it was big enough for all three to look through comfortably as Chloe kept the dark space lit with green light.

"What is it?" Jesse asked.

"An elevator shaft."

"There's not an elevator out there," Jesse responded confusedly, "at least that I saw, Chloe?"

"I didn't see one either."

"It's a secret elevator shaft."

Both of her colleagues looked at her oddly.

"Can't you tell? Secret government building that I hadn't heard of until this, shoddy building equipment, a fire breathing cat? This building is a front for something. And whatever it is, it's down this elevator shaft."

"Do we check it out?"

"Of course," Jesse argued, "maybe the league would finally give us some respect if we find and deal with whatever they're hiding down there. And considering the fire breathing cat, I'd say it's something good."

"It would be nice to do something on our own. Aubrey, what do you think?"

"I did specifically say that we were just staying for the fire."

"That was before we met a fire breathing cat. That changes things."

"True. If we wait to call in the league they might be able to move whatever they're hiding down there."

"Worst case scenario, we go down there and it's nothing so we leave. No harm done. They'll blame the hole in the wall on the cat," Chloe reaches down to scratch the belly of the beast, "you can be our furry little accomplice can't you?"

"I really wouldn't touch that thing."

"Oh come on Aubrey lighten up, he looks like he's down for the count. Besides, he's so cute!"

"He didn't try to kill you," Aubrey muttered.

"So are we doing this or not," Jesse interjected.

"Let's go for it," Aubrey confirmed, "Chloe, take us down the shaft, but first go inside and find out where the elevator is."

Chloe nodded and went in.

"I can't see it, I'm guessing it's all the way down in the basement, whoever's down there probably didn't even know this was going on. Otherwise it'd be on the ground level."

"Agreed, let's go."

Chloe formed another bubble around the three and slowly levitated down. The shaft was completely dark, without even lightbulbs to provide an indication of how far they had gone. Based on the time it was taking them to get down, it was certainly a pretty great distance. The further they went, the more concerned the group grew.

"How long is this going to take?"

"Apparently their basement is at the center of the Earth."

"I'd go faster, but I don't particularly feel like free falling with two other people."

At that moment, their feet hit solid ground, the top of the elevator.

"FINALLY!"

They jumped through the small door on top of the elevator to get inside of it. From there, they quickly found the door.

"Give me a second," Aubrey quickly dialed some buttons on her wrist, opening the door.

"How did you-"

"Don't ask," Chloe responded, "she can do anything with that thing."

As they walked into the large, red hallway, they couldn't help but notice the... unnatural... feeling to the area. It was cavernous, with ceilings as high as 20 or 25 feet. The hall was just as wide, and aside from the eery aura it gave off, there were several different pathways in which they could traverse. This was going to take awhile.

"Do we split up?"

"I don't think so, we don't know what we're looking for."

"Yea, we might as well just go down each direction one by one and see what we find."

As quickly as the decision was made, a loud, booming voice caught there attention.

"Batgirl? Kid Flash? Green Lantern? What are you doing here?"

The man was large, silver, and hardly human. A silver casing engulfed his entire body, the only exception being a small, dark creature sitting on his shoulder.

"Captain Atom?" Chloe responded in astonishment, "what are you doing here? I thought you were retired?"

"As a superhero, but I've been enlisted in the military since I was a teenager. I didn't retire from that."

"So you work here?"

"I run security for Cadmus. But you didn't answer my question."

"We heard about the fire," Aubrey confidently answered, "when it was contained, we took the elevator down to see if anyone down here had been injured or needed our help."

Lying was a strength of Aubrey's. She was raised on it, both through her strong genes and training at the hands of Batman. To her, words were simply a means to an end. On some level, that bothered Chloe. She never knew how seriously to take her word, especially given her trusting nature. It's not that she had been burned, but she knew how easily Aubrey could manipulate her if she chose. Though she was just as intelligent (perhaps more so), her personality was in stark contrast to Aubrey's, and even the slightest fib was difficult for her.

"Everything's ok down here, we hadn't even realized there was a fire up on the ground. We have automated systems to inform law enforcement of such things. Which begs the question, why were you here at all?"

"Happenstance, we saw a problem and dealt with it. We didn't know who are what this place was."

"I guess that's alright," he responded suspiciously. Suddenly, the small creature on his shoulder began to react. Its eyes started to glow a bright red, and Captain Atom was in visible pain, "you have to leave, now!"

"What why?"

"Intruders!" He shouted, banging a switch on the wall. Within moments, dozens, perhaps hundreds of the small creatures emerged from the shadows and attacked along with Captain Atom. Reacting quickly, Chloe formed a green barrier between them with her ring.

"Anyone have a plan?" She asked, with clear strain, "I don't know how long I can hold them off."

"I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way," Aubrey ordered, "Just don't let make prolonged contact, we don't know what they are or what they can do."

When the wall collapsed, Jesse immediately zoomed into the fray and started knocking the creatures around before they could even respond. Aubrey was next, and between her hand to hand combat and gadgets she was able to get rid of her fair share quickly. Chloe stood back and tried to attack from long range, while also keeping an eye on Jesse and Chloe, offering protection from afar if anything got close enough to strike. Once the small creatures were mostly knocked out, Chloe went after Captain Atom.

"Snap out of it Captain!" She shouted with a punch. There was no response. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to negotiate, she used a green energy blast to throw him into the wall. By then, all of the creatures were down for the count.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Apparently we're not wanted here."

"Should we just get out now while we can?"

"No," Aubrey firmly stated, "brainwashed superheroes, weird little demons, they're hiding something big down here. We should probably try to be quick though, we don't know what else they have waiting for us."

They separated to take glances down the various hallways and see if they were worth exploring. Each hallway ended in large steel doors with some sort of title emblazoned on them. Whenever they saw something interesting, they reported back to the group.

"Anyone find anything?"

"What's this," Jesse asked, "_Project Doomsday_."

"Sounds promising," Aubrey responded, "here's what I'm looking at. I think it explains the cat from earlier. The doors are closed, but it says '_Project Cerberus_.'"

"Oh my God," Chloe gasped, staring through two partially opened doors to see a large glass pod. Inside was a girl. She was small, no more than five feet tall, and definitely skinny. She had muscles, but they weren't bulging. Her long brown hair rested on her shoulders as she slept, "guys! You have to come see this! NOW!"

Aubrey and Jesse raced to her and stood in shock at what they were seeing.

"Does it have a name?"

"Look at the door," Chloe pointed, "_Project_ _Supergirl_."

"Let me take a look at her," Aubrey moved in closer to examine the girl through the tube. Her physical features were unremarkable, she looked like any other 18 year old girl. Oddly enough, despite wearing what appeared to be a black jumpsuit (or at least some form of spandex), she had a number of earrings in her ears, ranging from the lobe all the way up to two spikes in the cartilage. What really caught Aubrey's attention though, was the logo on the suit. Prominently featured on the chest of the jumpsuit was a large, red S, surround by the legendary shield. There was no question about it, whoever this girl was, she had some connection to Superman.

"You don't think-"

"-Let's not jump to any conclusions," Jesse offered, "this could be anything."

"Aubrey, why don't you see if you can hack into the computer over there," Chloe pointed to the enormous monitor situated a few feet away from the tube, "maybe we can find out more about her."

"Good idea," Aubrey moved quickly and typed furiously as Chloe and Jesse waited anxiously. New screens and codes continued to appear on the screen, each one quickly solved by Aubrey as she hacked. Finally, a picture of the girl opened up with what appeared to be some sort of profile listing essential information.

"Project Supergirl," Chloe read aloud, "code name: Beca Mitchell. Height, five feet one inch, weight, 112 pounds, eye color, blue, hair color, brown, current status, ready for release, but not ready for unsupervised activity."

"Does it say anything about what exactly it is?"

"Hang on, let's see. Ah, there's a more detailed profile at the bottom."

"Project Supergirl Notes: a genetically altered clone of Superman. Upon release, she will act as a government employed superhero. Additionally, she will maintain a public persona as Beca Mitchell, a popular musician and singer. It is our hope that by giving her a popular public persona, she will gain enough approval with the populace that she can eventually become Earth's primary superhero, allowing us entry into the Justice League and eventually, control over it. Early mind control tests indicate that she is NOT yet mature enough to be released unsupervised. She is aware of her goal to join the Justice League, but she can only be partially controlled and her education is not yet complete, though it is close. As of today's entry, I would estimate she is three-to-six months away from full maturity and release."

"Wait, so that thing is saying-"

"It's saying they've created a brainwashed clone of Superman that they plan on turning into a pop star so that the public loves her and she can eventually take over the Justice League."

"Let her out," Chloe requested.

"Are you crazy?"

"What are you thinking Chloe?"

"It says she isn't ready to be left unsupervised, but she is ready to be released. In other words, she's alive, but not brainwashed. It said so in the notes."

"Chloe that could mean-"

"What else could it mean Aubrey? Maybe we can try to talk to her. For all we know she has no idea about any of this. Come on, we're not gonna get a second chance at this. Besides, if we leave her here and she gets released, who knows what kind of damage she could do. And what about her? Clone or not, I'm not leaving her here to be brainwashed into their slave. That's not fair to her, or any of the people she might hurt. This could be our one chance to stop all of this before it begins."

"Fine," Aubrey sighed in defeat, "but just know this is a big risk."

Aubrey pounded a few keys on the computer and the pod slowly began to open. As the smoke cleared, Chloe took a step towards it, hoping to offer the girl assistance if she needed it. However, as soon as her eyes opened, she flew out of the tube at nearly top speed, straight at Chloe. She was able to react quickly enough to create a barrier between them, but the force of the blow still knocked her backwards straight into the wall, taking her out of the fight.

Aubrey and Jesse didn't wait for her to continue, as they immediately jumped into the fray. Jesse was the first to try, running around her in circles trying to confuse her. She stood in the middle, patiently waiting as she discerned his pattern. After a few moments, she leapt straight forward, catching him in her arms and tackling him straight to the ground. Just as quickly as Chloe was beaten, Jesse was knocked out of the fight as well.

Aubrey jumped onto her back from several yards away, attempting to get her onto the ground.

"_The one day I don't carry kryptonite,_" she thought to herself bitterly.

Just as Aubrey thought she had a good grip, she was slammed into the ground as well. At that moment, Captain Atom and a scientist, a man with a receding hairline and scraggly facial hair, entered the room.

"Good girl," the scientist muttered in praise.

"What do you want us to do with them Dr. Mitchell?"

"Clone them," he confirmed, "take them to the cloning chambers now. I have to go tell our superiors what has transpired here."

"Are you sure Dr. Mitchell?" He asked, confused, "The league will surely notice, if not them then surely the Green Lantern Corps."

"Do it!"

Without another word, the scientist walked off, leaving Beca and Captain Atom to carry the prisoners through the building into three distinct pods. Once sealed inside, they were awakened by a powerful shock.

"Watch them," Captain Atom ordered, receiving a firm nod from Beca in response. As soon as he left, Chloe began to speak.

"Beca? Can I call you Beca?"

She gave no response.

"Can you tell us a little bit about yourself Beca? Maybe start with who you are."

"I am Supergirl. Also known as Beca Mitchell. I am a clone of Superman, designed to replace him should he perish, to fight alongside him should he survive, to destroy him should he falter. It is my sole purpose to join the Justice League."

"Do you know why?"

"I... I..."

"So they haven't told you everything?"

"I... don't know. I was taught telepathically."

"Beca... do you know who we are?"

"You are Green Lantern, Kid Flash, and Batgirl."

"Do you consider us enemies, or friends?"

"I'm... not sure."

"_Good,_" Chloe thought, "_there's hope._"

"Let me ask you something else, do you know who Superman is?"

"Of course."

"Would you like to meet him?"

"I... Cadmus will allow me to-"

"Not under Cadmus' supervision," Chloe continued, "just you and him. No ulterior motives, no spies, no Justice League. We can do that. We can take you to Superman."

With this Beca's interest was piqued. Her eyes shot wide open and there were clearly more questions on her mind.

"All you have to do is release us."

She furrowed her brow in thought.

"What about music?" Jesse asked, "you know what that is?"

"Yes," she responded, annoyed, "Of course."

"Have you ever actually heard it?"

"I have... implanted memories."

"But have you ever actually heard it?" Chloe went on, "have you ever sang on your own."

"I..."

"We can show you everything Beca," she offered, "the entire world. All you have to do is let us go."

She seriously contemplated the offer. She was intrigued, even curious. Inside, she was almost... desperate, but she'd never let it show. Even as a clone, she was taught never to reveal her true intentions. Before she could act, though, the scientist returned with Captain Atom.

"WHAT IS THE CLONE DOING OUT OF ITS POD?"

"It helped me carry the kids in here and watched them while I was gone."

"We have workers for that, get the clone back in its pod now!"

"Oh come on Dr. Mitchell I don't think-"

"Don't you?" He said, as the little demon on Atom's shoulder's eyes began to glow, ensnaring both Atom and Beca.

"I will take the clone back to its pod."

"Good, and as for you three," he said, fiddling with a few dials as Beca and Atom walked away, "time for the cloning process to begin."

The pain was excruciating, the shocks were meant to disable them, but all three were trained for this. Speaking in a light whisper, specifically so that only Beca could hear her, Chloe pleaded.

"Beca, please, we just want to help you. That's why we let you out. Now we need you to help us by doing the same. It's your decision, but ask yourself this: what would Superman do?"

As she walked, Beca heard the soft voice tugging on her heartstrings. There was something... calming... about Chloe. When she mentioned Superman's name, the telepathic control over her was broken. She stopped in her tracks, silently wondering, _what would Superman do?_ He certainly wouldn't leave three innocent heroes alone to be cloned, tortured and killed. Especially not one like... her. Her decision was made up, and she flew back into the chamber at top speed. With nothing more than a quick punch, the doctor was thrown across the room. She furiously pounded keys on the computer to stop the process, and when she deemed it safe, she ripped the tubes apart, starting with Chloe's.

"You came back for us."

"You've piqued my interest... Red."

Chloe smiled, offering a hand to shake.

"It's Chloe-"

"There will be time for introductions later, we have to get out of here."

"Right, let's go."

Just as they ran out of the room, Atom flew back towards them with an army of little demons. Chloe and Aubrey stood ready to attack, but before they could, Beca stepped forward. With an absolutely crazed look on her face, red lights shot from her eyes at the targets, knocking each of them out of the way.

"Woah," Jesse said in awe.

"I guess she has heat vision."

"She's not stopping," Aubrey shouted, "the whole place is gonna collapse."

"Beca! Stop!" Chloe screeched. Beca obliged.

"Come on, we don't have much time."

The four raced out of the room, heading for the elevator shaft. Atom got up in chase, followed by the scientist.

"Atom wait!" He stopped.

"What?"

"Send reinforcements upstairs!"

"Wait, who is on the premises?"

"We're short today, but we have a few enforcers Bane to the ground floor now, Mr. Freeze should already be there."

He affirmed, before chasing after them with an energy blast directed at Beca. The red light hit her square in the back, knocking her down. Aubrey and Jesse headed back to face him while Chloe went to help Beca.

"What was that?"

"Red sun radiation I'd guess, you'd better sit this one out."

"But I-"

"Beca you'll be of no use to us here without your powers."

"Fine," she grumbled.

Chloe jumped into the fray, knocking Atom back with a strong green energy blast. Aubrey contained him with some kind of energetic handcuffs. Even without them, he wasn't getting up any time soon.

"He's down for the count, now come on!"

Once inside the elevator shaft, Chloe flew Aubrey and Jesse up while Beca took care of herself. They dashed for the exit, but before they could reach an army of little demons jumped out of the shadow to attack.

"What are these things?" Chloe asked.

"The bait," a strange voice said from behind her. Suddenly, an incredibly muscular arm knocked Chloe aside.

"Adios, amigos," Bane taunted, cracking his knuckles as he laughed. Beca, in a fit of rage, flew directly at him without thinking.

"Beca wait!"

But it was too late. Midway through the flight, her leg was hit with a light blue ray, stopping her in her tracks. As she fell, she noticed her leg completely encased in ice. Turning around to look, she noticed Mr. Freeze aiming his gun at Aubrey as she engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Bane.

"Hang on," Jesse zoomed up to Beca, "I'll have you out of this in a flash."

Jesse's hands vibrated over the ice at an incredibly fast rate, melting it in just a few seconds.

"You alright?"

"Never better," Beca grumbled, "now stand back."

Beca, careful to aim for the helmet, took a shot with her heat vision at Mr. Freeze from afar. The heat might as well have been Freeze's kryptonite, as he immediately keeled over. Next, she turned her attention to Bane. Chloe currently had him wrapped up in a green bind as Aubrey ran up from behind and severed the tubes on his neck which filled his body with the steroid Venom, what gave him his strength. As he crumpled to the floor, Beca saw no reason to grant him mercy. She flew over to his weakened body and started punching furiously. Though he was no longer receiving the steroid, his natural muscle mass combined with what little Venom he had left in his system made him strong enough to somewhat withstand the blows.

"Beca stop!" Chloe shouted.

She didn't.

"Beca please! It's over! Stop it!"

Finally, she relented, but not before getting in one last kick to the now nearly completely broken body.

"Let's go."

As they walked outside, they noticed Superman, the Flash, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman floating down from above. They were in trouble, they all knew it.

"We told you to stay put! Look at what happened here!"

"I'm sorry," Aubrey responded, "we received a distress signal and followed it, we didn't think we'd be gone for very long and it seemed like we could help out. We couldn't just ignore a distress signal."

"Yes, that's how we knew where to find you, but you could have done irreversible damage to the- wait, who's that?" Superman questioned, pointing at Beca.

"That's..." Chloe stalled, "umm... Beca?"

"Right, and who is Beca?"

"Beca is..."

"I'm your clone," she jumped in without any regard for subtlety.

"My... what?"

"Your clone," Aubrey confirmed, "we found her downstairs. This whole place was a government research facility, they were building weapons. I'm guessing, specifically made to fight us. There was also a fire breathing cat and a few other experiments we didn't get to fully investigate. All we know for sure is that she is your clone."

"That's... impossible."

"Well... it's happening... so I don't really know what to tell you."

"Jesse, you're going home with your uncle," Superman chided "Aubrey, Chloe, I've sent Alfred to bring you both home. He's waiting around the corner."

"And what about the girl?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Take her back to the Watchtower," he ordered, "I'm... I'll see you there tomorrow."

With that, he flew off without another word.

"So much for an introduction," Aubrey half joked. Chloe placed a large, wet kiss on Beca's cheek, much to her surprise.

"What the-"

"That's for saving us," Chloe said with a smile, "thank you."

"Don't do that again."

"Oh don't worry, I will," Chloe said with a wink, "I'm a toucher."

"I'm not." Chloe immediately shook it off.

"Oh, and we didn't get to properly introduce ourselves back there. He's Jesse West, she's Aubrey Dent, and as you know, I'm Chloe. Chloe Wayne."

Beca reluctantly took Chloe's hand, which Chloe immediately used as an opportunity to bring her in for a hug.

"Well... it was nice meeting you. Aubrey and I have to go, but I'm sure we'll be seeing you again soon!"

With that, Chloe and Aubrey headed towards the limousine waiting for them at the edge of the street, leaving a very confused Beca with four superheroes she'd never met.

"Do you know who I am?" Wonder Woman asked.

Beca nodded.

"I know who all of you are."

"We're going to have to ask you to come back to the Watchtower with us."

"What for?" She asked, clearly bothered with the less than stellar reaction she had received from both Superman and the rest of the league. She silently wondered why they didn't just act more like Chloe, even if she did have some serious boundary issues.

"We just want to... get to know a little bit more about you."

"Apparently Superman doesn't," Beca looked off into the distance in the direction Superman flew, but he was gone.

"He... has issues... with this kind of thing."

"He's been cloned before?"

"No, no. It's just... he's very private. It's a long story. I'm guessing he's not crazy about someone stealing his DNA and using it to clone him. He sees it as a massive invasion of privacy."

Beca looked away in disgust.

"Look... I know all of this is... odd. But please just come back to the Watchtower with us. Tomorrow we can get all of this sorted out more formally. Superman will be there."

"Fine," Beca grumbled. This was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, I want to thank you guys for your awesome reviews. It really is one of my favorite things about this, my ego needs the boost. Please, for my sake, keep them up! I'm really excited for this and where it's heading, and I'm loving writing it. Just as a head's up, flashbacks are in italics. They aren't necessarily brought about by anything, they're just here to say something I need said about the characters, as a big goal I have here is exploring what makes these people tick. Some chapters will have multiple flashbacks, others will have none, it'll all depend on the flow of the story. Anyway, enough of that, enjoy!**

* * *

_Chloe was never a particularly heavy sleeper. It wasn't necessarily her fault, her father simply kept late hours. For all of his legendary stealth, the Batman was never one for keeping quiet in his own home. Though at five years old she was far too young to actually know what he was doing, Chloe grew used to waiting for him to come home at night, absorbing the intricacies of his arrivals. A few soft steps outside of her door meant that things went well. Sometimes he'd even come in and watch her as she pretended to sleep. When the steps were slower, more deliberate and noisy, Chloe knew something had gone wrong._

_She was usually able to sleep through it, telling herself how big and strong her daddy was. Nothing could possibly hurt him. But tonight was different. His breathing was heavy, she could even tell through her bedroom doors. His steps were staggered, she could even hear a light whispering argument between him and her grandpa Alfred. She started to grow concerned. When the whispering stopped and she could no longer take it, she got out of bed and went into the hallway to see a very injured Bruce Wayne struggling to make his way towards his bedroom._

_"Daddy?"_

_He turned around, surprised to see his only daughter out of bed._

_"Chloe? What are you doing up?"_

_"I heard you come in and I got scared."_

_"Scared? Why would you get scared?"_

_"You sound like you got hurt. Are you ok?"_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Daddy you're not supposed to lie."_

_This brought a small smile to Bruce's face. He knelt down to her level, clearly wincing through the pain._

_"You're right, I'm not."_

_"Do you want a hug daddy?"_

_"That sounds great Chloe."_

_His smile grew larger as his little girl wrapped her short arms around him._

_"Thanks Chloe, I really needed that."_

_"You're welcome daddy."_

_"Now come on, you need to get to sleep."_

_She looked away for a moment, earning a bit of concern on Bruce's face._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Can... Can I sleep in the big bed with you tonight daddy?"_

_"Of course you can baby girl."_

_Bruce scooped Chloe up in his arms, carrying her back his bedroom as she slowly started to drift off. When he carefully placed her in the bed and plopped onto the other side himself, she quickly crawled over to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek._

_"I love you daddy."_

_The smile on his face was one of both love and pride._

_"I love you too Chloe. Promise me you'll never change, ok?"_

_"I promise. Goodnight daddy."_

_"Goodnight Chloe."_

* * *

Beca was... well... lounging isn't quite the word. Angrily lying? On her small, uncomfortable cot in the Watchtower living quarters. Aside from a six hour sleep break, The past 20 hours had been nothing but tests, interviews, more tests and more interviews. Apparently the Justice League thought it important to find out if she had a favorite food (the answer: fried oysters) or if she knew who won the Oscar for best picture in 1964 (the answer: unknown). The one thing they hadn't done was give her one-on-one time with the Man of Steel. He arrived a few hours earlier, but since then had done nothing to make her feel welcome, or even alive. Deep down, there was a part of her that wondered if she would have just been better off back in her pod. She tabled those thoughts as the door to her chamber opened, revealing a casually dressed Chloe.

"Hi Beca."

"Chloe."

Chloe sat down on the end of Beca's bed, clearly sensing that she needed space, but staying close enough to give off her trademark warmth.

"So you look... annoyed."

"You would be too if you had my day."

"They made you go through all of the tests huh?"

"How'd you know?"

"I remember when I first got the ring, I swear it felt like I was here for a week. And it was so unnecessary! They didn't need to know my physical capabilities because my power comes from the ring, and if I pass the psychological profiling test of the Guardians of the Universe that should be enough for the league!"

"Is there some sort of suggestion box where we can voice these concerns?" Beca asked sarcastically, earning a sincere laugh out of Chloe.

"You have quite a sense of humor for someone who's been alive for less than a day."

"I guess Cadmus wanted their super heroes snarky and sarcastic."

"I guess so. So what did the tests tell you?"

"Apparently at full strength I should be 78 percent as powerful as Superman."

"78 percent? Not bad. At least they gave you a number. Superman just told me I 'wasn't Hal Jordan.' I always thought that was kind of obnoxious of him, but I guess he's not on your good side either."

"Does he ever smile?"

"Not since I've been in this line of work."

"I have to say I expected more out of him. At least based on what I was taught. I mean... it's in the name, he's **Super**man."

"He hasn't been the same since..."

Beca sensed Chloe's discomfort, but needed to dig a little deeper.

"Since what?"

"Could we... not talk about it? It's kind of a touchy subject for me."

Beca sighed in frustration.

"Ok. So what are you doing here anyway?"

"Is it so farfetched that I just wanted to see you?"

"We've known each other for a day and let's face it, I'm not exactly Mrs. Sunshine."

"The 'S' on your chest says differently. You could call yourself sunshine girl!"

Beca's death glare told Chloe to back off.

"Fine, though seeing you is a fringe benefit, I'm actually here to talk about you. To the league, I mean."

"What? Why?"

"We're... we're discussing if you should join the Justice League. Aubrey and Jesse are here to, though I doubt we'll have a big part in the proceedings."

The shock on Beca's face was evident.

"Really? They haven't exactly made me feel wanted."

"It's... a long story. You shouldn't get your hopes up. Big Boy Blue doesn't exactly like us kids."

"At least it's not just me."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like anyone anymore."

* * *

The founders all took their places at the conference table, with Chloe and Aubrey standing nervously in the background. Neither particularly knew what their place was in this conversation, so they were very cautious not to be overly presumptuous. Knowing who was sitting at the end of the table, they probably wouldn't even get to speak. The silence was cutting, awkward, nobody wanted to be the one to break it. Nobody of course, except for the Flash.

"So what are we doing with Supergirl?"

"Don't call her that," Superman nearly shouted, "you don't just get to jump out of a pod and call yourself Superman."

"Well technically she's not-"

Superman's glare might as well have included heat vision. The Flash immediately backed off.

"Never mind."

"The tests we ran today were quite promising. At her expected rate of development we should expect her to be one of the most powerful members in the league."

"And now you're talking about her like she's already a member."

"Well, assuming she joins, she would be a very valuable asset," Manhunter concluded.

"And we're not even sure just how powerful she can be," Hawkgirl continued, "these are only estimates. Who knows what a couple of week's of yellow sun radiation will do for her. Not to mention experience."

"Are we sure experience would make a difference?" Flash asked, "didn't Cadmus program her with implanted memories? For all we know in her head she's fought as much as any of us."

"Nothing can make up for real field experience," Superman argued.

The conversation went on in this fashion for what felt like hours. One of the four dissenting founders would make a logical point only to be quickly rebuffed by the Man of Steel. Their patience quickly started growing thin, more strain was placed on their voices. This was becoming far more contentious than anyone wanted.

Superman slammed his fists against the table, leaving visible dents in the painted steel logo signifying his seat.

"How can you even consider this? She has no experience, we know absolutely nothing about her. And you think she's ready to join the Justice League?"

"Perhaps we're going about this the wrong way," Wonder Woman opined, "Aubrey, you've seen her in the field, what do you think?"

Aubrey confidently took a step forward.

"She's brash, angry, untrustworthy and most of all, dangerous. I can't support her gaining admittance into the league with all of that hanging over our heads."

"Thank you!" Superman nearly shouted.

Chloe, visibly annoyed by Aubrey's lack of faith, jumped into the conversation.

"Aubrey you're forgetting we'd both be dead if it weren't for her," Chloe argued.

"Who gave you the floor, Lantern?"

"As a member of the Green Lantern Corps and future member of the Justice League I believe I am entitled to say my piece," Chloe responded.

"_Future_ member, please keep that in mind as you speak."

"Fine. I think some of you are missing the point. We don't have much of a choice here. It's not like we have dozens of young heroes at our disposal. We are at war, and we need all of the soldiers we can get our hands on. She's raw, but she has too much talent to ignore. She's more powerful than anyone in this room," that earned a glare from Superman, "well, most of us anyway."

"There's more to being a hero than just power," Wonder Woman reminded.

"Exactly," Aubrey agreed, "she's not one of us. She doesn't know what it means to be a hero. She's certainly not ready to join the Justice League."

"With all due respect to Aubrey," Manhunter opined, "and Chloe for that matter, neither of them are members yet. Are we sure we should be having this discussion with them?"

"Let the kids have their say," The Flash jumped in, "after all, they're the ones who would have to work with her. Besides, Jesse's already taken quite a liking to her."

"We are not making decisions that will effect the entire Justice League based on whether or not your sidekick likes them," Superman argued.

"Who says she has to join the Justice League?" Chloe offered, "send her to Barden with us. Jesse's gonna be new there anyway, in fact I believe we have a few more new faces to induct. Why can't she be a Bella?"

"You think _she_ could be a Bella?" Aubrey said, disgustedly.

"Why not? It's not like we're in a position to be picky. Besides, you read her profile just like I did. She's a singer. So what if she's rough around the edges, that just means we'll have to work that much harder to whip her into shape."

"I suppose a trial run couldn't hurt," Flash pointed out.

"Does anyone have any objections?"

"You're all making a big mistake. That girl is going to be the end of us all," with that, Superman angrily stood out of his chair and stormed out.

"So I guess it's settled."

"Can I go tell her?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"No," Wonder Woman objected, "the others will be here soon. We'll explain everything to everyone at once."

* * *

"Beca?" Chloe carefully asked as she walked into the room.

Her eyes were hopeful, Chloe really didn't want to let her down. She'd experienced that feeling too many times herself.

"So?"

"Just... come with me... ok?"

"That doesn't sound good."

"They'll explain everything once we get there. Now come on."

With an impatient huff, Beca obeyed and followed Chloe. After a short walk, they entered a large conference room to see several other young heroes, some of which Beca had met, others she only knew from implanted memories. As soon as they walked in, the room fell silent as the other new heroes tried to figure out what was going on.

"Who's the short chick?" Amy asked.

"She's cute," Stacie flirted, earning a glare from Aubrey.

"She's Superman's clone," Wonder Woman began as she entered the room, passing out several folders as everyone took their seats, "now that we're all here, we can begin. Like I said, this is Beca. She's a clone of Superman we... released... from government control. She was found at a secret facility, and we don't yet know what else they were working on."

"They can clone us?" Benji asked.

"Yes, they can. Which is why we try to keep you all as hidden as possible."

"Hence, college."

"College?" Beca asked, genuinely confused. This was not her original intention. Nor was it even remotely on her mind. She figured she would either join the Justice League or fight hard enough to earn a place on her own. But cooped away at college? What good would that do her? She was already more powerful than the rest of them put together, what good would wasting away at a middle-tier university do her? Chloe could sense her disappointment just by sitting next to her. Beca clearly needed a few minutes to absorb this before she could appropriately react, but Chloe wasn't particularly optimistic about what that would entail.

"Yes, college. As most of you know, you will all be enrolled at Barden University for the fall semester, which begins in three days. Now, as many of you are inexperienced, we've decided to do what we can to help speed up the process. First of all, you will all be living together. Jesse, Benji, as you are the only two men here, you will be roommates."

"Roommates with a martian? Cool!" Jesse shouted, eliciting a small smile in relief from Benji.

"As for the girls, we tried to split you up so that the younger among you have a mentor in your room. Stacie, Amy, you will be rooming with Aubrey in a triple."

"Great," Aubrey sarcastically muttered.

"That leaves Beca and Chloe."

"Roomies!" Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs as she embraced Beca, who was clearly less enthused by the situation. Chloe really was excited about it, but really, she'd just hoped to elicit some of the enthusiasm in Beca, whose temper was clearly beginning to boil to the surface as her dissatisfaction with her rejection set in.

"Let. Go. Now."

Not wanting to push her any further, Chloe released her almost instantly.

"Inside of those folders you'll find your class schedules. You're free to major in whatever you want, but you will all take at least one class together per semester. Those of you in the same year will have more."

"Introduction to astroepidemiology? I can't even spell that and I'm looking at it!"

"Yes," Wonder Woman continued, "you will all be expected to take academically rigorous course loads. This is not an opportunity to slack off in the classroom, your grades will be monitored closely. Moving on, you will also be expected to maintain active extracurricular lives. Luckily for most of you, you come from somewhat musical backgrounds. At least to the point where it would be believable. Therefore, the girls will all join the campus a capella group, the Barden Bellas. Jesse, you will join the male group, the Treblemakers. Benji, unfortunately we can't put you in the group as you don't have any background in music. It would cause too much suspicion. Therefore, we will give you time to find another group on campus that suits more of your interests."

Benji was visibly disappointed. He was looking forward to the chance to socialize more openly with his new teammates.

"Additionally, you have each been issued other activities you will perform either individually or with a partner. Aubrey, Chloe, you already know what you're doing. Stacie, you will be rushing a sorority, which one is up to you."

Stacie tried and failed to hide her smile.

"Amy, Benji, you're going to be volunteering at a local animal shelter. That leaves Jesse and Beca. You two will be interning at the campus radio station."

Jesse didn't even attempt to cover up his excitement over the news. As soon as Wonder Woman finished her sentence, he zoomed over to Beca, leaving only a few inches between himself and Supergirl."

"So I guess we'll have some time to... get acquainted," he tried to flirt. Without dropping her face an inch, she blew out a freezing gust of wind, knocking Jesse back."

"Ow!"

"...I'm going to allow that," Wonder Woman chuckled, "Jesse, don't be such a pig."

"I'd call it suave," he grumbled, trudging back to his seat.

"Now, the most important part of all of this, missions," with this Beca perked up, "as you should all be aware, we have a strict policy against heroes under the age of 23 operating in public unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, your missions will be restricted to covert operations out of the public eye and surveillance. You will not be fighting supervillains-"

"Covert?" Beca shouted, starting to lose her temper, "covert? Do you know who I am?"

"Beca calm down," Chloe attempted to no avail.

"I'm fucking Supergirl! I should be out there knocking heads, saving lives, not doing your... grunt work!"

"Stand down!"

"I will not stand down! I'm being completely wasted here! And for what? So Superman can treat me like some sort of blight upon the planet? I mean for God's sake at least Cadmus appreciated me. This is absolutely ridiculous, come find me when you're ready to treat me like the superhero I really am."

With that, Beca stormed off towards the door. Nobody tried to stop her, save for Chloe, but she decided she'd wait until after the rest of the briefing. Honestly, she might as well have left right away. Nothing of note was said after that, and the room was filled with an awkward tension. When it was over, Chloe didn't stick around to socialize with the others. She headed straight for Beca's quarters. When she arrived, she placed three soft knocks on the door, hoping not to be too disturbing.

"Go away."

"No."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"I'm not letting you in."

"Fine with me."

Out of Chloe's ring shot a green credit card, which she used to slide through the small gap between the door and the wall. It was more aesthetic than anything, Chloe honestly could have just knocked the door down, but she figured a light touch would be more appropriate.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to talk."

"What is there to talk about?"

"Well, the new girl flipped out at our debriefing, you should've seen it."

"Ha ha."

"What's wrong Beca?"

"Why is that your business?"

Thinking about it, Chloe didn't have a real answer. She wasn't sure why she was so intrigued with Beca. After all, she was just a clone right? Kryptonian or not, this was a girl she'd met the day before who had done nothing but throw temper tantrums and complain. But there was something about her. Something she couldn't quite identify. It was almost as if she wanted to redeem herself for things she hadn't yet done, only she had no idea how to go about doing it.

"Because we're gonna be roommates silly," Chloe smiled.

"At a college I have no business attending."

"Well like it or not, you're going to be there, so you might as well make the best of it right?"

"Really? Who's going to stop me from just flying away, you?"

"Well I am pretty tough," Chloe joked, but as she sensed Beca's mood, she tried to appeal to her emotionally, "come on Beca. I know it's not ideal, hell, I'd probably rather not be there either, but we can make the best of it. So can you do it? For me?"

"What is it with you anyway?" Beca snapped, "why are you always so nice all of the time?"

"I guess I've just always been this way," Chloe said reluctantly. Beca could see that she was upsetting her, and despite not knowing why, that bothered her. She relented.

"Fine, I'll go," this brought a smile to Chloe's face.

"Good, you know Beca, I think we're going to be fast friends."

"Yea, yea, now can I please just have some time to myself?"

"I insist," Chloe said to Beca's surprise, "because the moment we move in together you'll never get another moment of it."

"Great," she groaned.

* * *

Chloe knew she should have just gone home. In fact, she should have gone anywhere else. Surely there was some intergalactic government being overthrown that she could tend to. But she just couldn't help herself. She walked into Superman's chambers tentatively as he sat behind a desk reading some sort of briefing.

"Hi."

"Can I help you?"

"Do you think we could... talk... for a bit?"

Superman's patience was thin as he rubbed his temples angrily.

"About?"

"Beca."

"No."

"Superman this is official league business, surely you can't hold such a grudge that you'd actually put us in danger."

"_Damn technicality,_" he thought.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Have you spoken with her at all? In private, I mean."

"No, and I don't see a purpose."

"With all due respect, seriously?"

"Is it my job to train new heroes? No, nor is it my job to babysit them."

"She needs you. All of this, the only reason she's here, is because she wanted to meet you. Hell, it's the only reason I'm alive. Like it or not, she's your responsibility."

"My responsibility? I didn't sign up for this. I never asked for anyone to clone me. This is all just a mistake, the result of the messed up world we've helped to create."

"But Superman she's-"

"A science experiment. A glorified lab rat who got out of its cage, and we're treating her like she's the fucking second coming."

"A lab rat? She's practically your daughter."

"My daughter? We share DNA. Nothing else. Don't you ever call her that to my face again."

"What is this really about Superman? Does this have to do with my dad?"

"Excuse me?"

"I think you know what I mean."

"Your father was a hero, but you?" he spat, "you're nothing but a child. Now get out, and don't you ever bring this up with me again."

Chloe's look was sad, almost pitying. She wasn't hurt by his words so much as she empathized with his pain. The truth was, Superman took her father's death just as hard as she did. When she left, Superman slumped back into his chair. He was angry, with all of this. It never should have gotten to this point.

* * *

_Clark couldn't believe where he was. Sure, he'd been to Wayne Manor several times, but never under these circumstances. Hell, nobody figured this would ever come up. It was sudden, but then, so was Bruce. He didn't even have a real wedding, just a small ceremony attended by Clark (as the best man) and Wonder Woman (as the maid of honor). So when Batman told him in confidence that he would be having a child, Superman couldn't help but wonder what the hell led to that point. But here he was, knocking on the door, waiting to see his best friend's newborn daughter for the very first time. He was greeted by a smiling Alfred, clearly thrilled at having a new baby in the house._

_"Morning Alfred."_

_"Master Kent, so good to see you. Master Bruce is in the nursery, is he expecting you?"_

_"Yes, but this is a personal visit. I'm here to see the baby."_

_"Ah yes, she's beautiful. Right this way."_

_Alfred led Clark up the stairs and down a seemingly endless string of hallways, grinning all the way. It was rewarding for Alfred, to see Bruce so personally fulfilled after years of misery. It felt right, it felt fair. _

_"He's inside."_

_With a nod in gratitude, Clark stepped into the room to see Bruce cradling an infant in a rocking chair._

_"Wow Bruce, you look... so out of place."_

_"A guy can't hold his newborn daughter without wearing a cape and cowl?"_

_"No, no, it's just... I never expected to see you like this."_

_"Have to admit I always figured it would be you settling down with a wife and kids."_

_"Speaking of which, where is Mrs. Wayne?"_

_"Resting. I can hardly blame her. This one's quite a handful," this elicited a squeal out of Chloe. _

_"So have you picked a name?"_

_"Chloe," Bruce confirmed, "apparently it's a family name."_

_"Well I have to say, besides the red hair, she looks just like you. And her mother."_

_"She has her eyes, that's for sure."_

_"She's beautiful Bruce. Then again, she'd probably have to be to get Batman to take time off of work."_

_"Family changes a man Clark. The mission doesn't seem quite so important when you're holding your child."_

_"So does this mean you're retiring?" Clark asked hopefully. Not that he wanted to work without Batman, but Bruce was his best friend. He deserved an early retirement, especially now that he had a family. The world could survive without Batman, but Chloe couldn't without a father. _

_"Nothing so serious. Not yet anyway. After all, the mission is still the mission."_

_Clark was disappointed. He figured you couldn't take the bat out of the man. _

_"I wouldn't expect anything less," Superman said, "so when will we be fitting the little one for a bat suit?"_

_"Never," he stated firmly. _

_"Really? But Robin-"_

_"Robin isn't my son. It's not the same. Dick needed to become Robin. But Chloe? I'm going to make sure she never turns into me."_

_"Aren't you being a little hard on yourself?"_

_"I'm serious Clark. My daughter will never be a superhero."_

_"I have to say I'm surprised Bruce, but I get it. It's just... I can't imagine a Wayne not fighting crime. After all, it's in her blood."_

_"It's not like my parents wore costumes. I was born out of circumstance, I'm going to make sure my daughter never goes through the same."_

_Clark sighed. _

_"Your line of work isn't exactly safe Bruce. And you're getting older. If you're really going to do this, if you're really going to stay in the field and fight, you know she's going to feel the pull. You know if anything ever happened to you, she'd want to follow your example."_

_"That's why you're not going to let her."_

_"What?"_

_"Clark, I want you to promise me that if anything ever happens to me, you'll make sure my daughter never puts on a mask. She deserves a normal life, the one I never got to live. Promise me."_

_"Bruce this would be so much easier if you'd just retire. You've done your part. Don't make me do this."_

_"You know as well as I do that this isn't the kind of life you can just quit. Once you're in, you're in. That's why Chloe will never start. Just promise me, ok?"_

_"Ok," he conceded, "I promise."_


End file.
